Buffon: Juve, FIFA or MLS? Football Italia MLS commissioner talks relegation, NYCFC and replay New York Post Emails pull back curtain on options of NYCFC's owners Report: Queens borough president wants soccer stadium American owners still finding their feet at Swansea City Soccer America Take note, David Beckham: 69,256 for MLS game in Atlanta Miami Herald
An aged European legend is leaving his long time club. Time for an MLS rumor. At least the author came up with a specific team that will actually have a DP spot available, rather than just the vague "NY or LA."
no MLS team needs to sign a goalie for millions of dollars and that includes buffon when the Rapids signed Tim Howard in 2015, i stated it was a waste of money, they already had a solid goalie in zac mcmath and what they really needed was a top class striker or #10 super creative MF- as it tuns out, i was right- the Rapids sit last in the West Conference and have the 2nd worst goal scoring in MLS- they are one of the most boring teams in MLS did signing howard have an attendance bump?? not at all- in 2017, the Rapids sit 20th in MLS with an average under 16 000 (2016 was 16 200 average) - goal scorers and creative MFs put bums in the seat- along with winning and being competitive, fans want to be entertained and nothing does that better than a terrific goal scorer or a creative #10 player solid goalies can be had for well under $1 million - and would buffon really want to be falling on all types of field surfaces which would take a beating on his aging body?
Incorrect about no attendance boost from Howard. There were only a couple games the rest of the season which did not sell out. This also led to the Transamerica sponsorship being extended and increased. The team had an open DP spot, and one of the best known NT players was available. Poor front office decisions since then removed the team's core strength and caused attendance to fall, but those off-season and early season decisions should be viewed separately.
On the other hand, they were unexpectedly (in terms of pre-season forecasts) in the Supporters Shield race and heading toward the play offs. That likely has something to do with some of the late season attendance. I'm sure Howard sold some shirts and drew some fans. I am also sure the Buffon would sell a few shirts and draw the curious. But I'm not convinced that the difference between a good MLS keeper and an older international keeper is worth the money relative to investing those dollars on field players. The few teams that have spent money on top quality center backs recently seem to have gotten a better return, to pick an example I haven't actually verified. So while Buffon is one of my all time favorites and I would pay to see him play at least once, I'm not sure I want my team spending millions on him, especially if they have a good MLS keeper in place.
.@brianstraus on the ever-changing lower-tier picture of the U.S. Soccer club landscape and the NASL's Hail Mary https://t.co/8WEnzxmy4y— SI Soccer (@si_soccer) September 16, 2017
Yeah, I'm against signing Buffon as a DP. He's a good candidate for being the best at his position the last couple decades, but there are specific challenges and concerns that would affect coming to MLS and specifically NYC: Would he care? Plenty of older DPs haven't (like fellow Italian Pirlo, whom he'd hypothetically replace). An unmotivated old player taking a DP spot for a year doesn't help catch Toronto or stay ahead of Atlanta. A DP should be more productive than a TAM guy, even if it's a glamour signing. Would fans care? It's not hard to argue he's had a better pro career than Howard, who I just defended as a signing for Colorado. But Buffon is unfamiliar to many Americans, plays an unglamorous position, NYC already has a successful sexy DP to fanboy or fangirl about, and he's not a USNT fixture. An expensive DP better generate sponsorship and sell tickets and merchandise, and I don't know if Buffon would. Would the changes hurt his performance, even if he is motivated? Lots of long distance air travel, weather variation, unfamiliar teammates with wildly varying styles and skill levels, and other differences mean it's often hard to adjust to MLS, even when players want to. Older players may take longer to adjust, because their success increasingly relies on experience and familiarity with teammates and their club's style and tactics rather than athleticism.
I'm not sure what the stadium capacity is. I thought it was more than 70,425. However, I believe that was the tickets sold. I checked Wikipedia and it lists football capacity at 71,000.
Bathrooms, concessions, merchandise, late arrivals, early departures, purchased but unredeemed tickets.
What he said. And it wasn't just games after Howard showed up that were sold out, all but 2 games after the official announcement in May were sold out (one post-school starting weeknight game, the other was the first post-Super Bowl victory Broncos preseason game+Rockies+Journey all at the same time). The fact that attendance fell this year has everything to do with the FO deciding that Howard wasn't step 1 of a new plan but step only. An offseason where the only signing signings were Boateng and Gordon while the likes of JJ and Pappa left. Then ripping the guts out of the defense after game 3. For those who say the money could have been better invested elsewhere, remember that the Transamerica renewed sponsorship (and reportedly a significantly higher number) was announced the same weekend as Howard and the sponsorship deal was for the exact same length as Howard's contract. i.e. Transamerica is paying for Howard, not KSE. Who else could the Rapids have gotten with a similar visibility at a similar number? Because otherwise financially the move is worse for the Rapids.
I think this league has to got start opening eyes around the world. I've been watching a lot of games in Europe this weekend with empty stadiums and no one would ever dream of a crowd like this from a new club. It's pretty incredible! Whenever Miami joins in along with LAFC next year, these high attendances could become a common thing.
and we know the soccer capacity is less than football because of the stands that retract in the corners to give the full soccer width.
NYCFC already has Sean Johnson, who is playing well his year. If they bring in Buffon, that tells us they don't care about winning. They could bring in a DP who could give Villa more service. Making a choice to bring in Buffon instead is nuts.
Did everyone read the article? They didn't have to pay him at all. They paid him through June 30. That's American capitalism in the 21st century. Why should he be treated differently from someone on an assembly line, or a clerical worker who develops carpal tunnel?
Given some of the players over the years who have literally played 0 minutes due to injury and got paid for the season (Sean St.Ledger last year for example) why is Wynne treated different?